DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT RIPE NCC Review R.Blokzijl M.Sterba W.Woeber 7 September 1993 Version 1 1. Background The current activities of the RIPE NCC are guided by, and based upon, the document "RIPE NCC Activity Plan" [ref.: ripe-035]. This document was accepted by the RIPE community in May 1991 as the bases for a future RIPE NCC. Since April 1992 the RIPE NCC has been operational on the basis of the set of activities as described in ripe-035. At the RIPE meeting of April 1993 it was decided that a review of the first year of operations would be a needed in order to determine whether a. the goals as put down in the Activity Plan have been met b. an update of said activity plan is needed This document gives a review of current operations of the RIPE NCC. An updated activity plan will be presented in a separate document. The document is structured in two parts. The first part gives a detailed evaluation of the individual activities, as defined in the Activity Plan. The second part contains remarks of a more general nature. 2. Evaluation of Technical Activities 2.1 Technical -- Coordination Activities 2.1.1 The RIPE Database This task is performed by the NCC according to the Activity plan. New objects and attributes have been added as agreed by the RIPE community. New tools for checking, maintaining and distributing the database are being implemented. Reports are handled through the Quarterly Reports in an excellent way. 2.1.2 Distribution of the Database The distribution of the database is handled well. The newly developed software will support consistency between primary and secondary copies better. 2.1.3 Coordination of Database exchange with other Organisations This is permanently pursued. In cooperation with the Internic and Merit an exchange format has been defined. Good progress has been made, the delay in implementation of the actual exchanges is not attributable to the RIPE NCC. 2.1.4 Keep a record of IP connectivity in Europe This is progressing, albeit slowly. However we think this activity could be reviewed in the light of recent developments on the organisational background of networking in Europe. A more distributed approach could be advisable. 2.1.5 Keep an inventory of IP infrastructures not yet interconnected Basically this is done via the RIPE DB, though this could be only up to date from the moment the NCC started registering IP networks for Europe. 2.1.6 Keep a record of operational contact points This has been implemented by way of mailing distribution lists that enable subscribed networks to keep in contact. 2.1.7 DNS Software Operational issues are coordinated by the RIPE DNS WG. The NCC maintains an archive of relevant software and documentation. 2.1.8 Placement of name servers and backup servers in Europe, and beyond From our experience, this currently appears to be a non-issue. At least down to the level where central coordination and checking can be done, there seem to be no major problems that would call for allocation of NCC manpower. 2.1.9 Gather traffic statistics and network performance data Basically no progress has been made in these fields. It is our opinion that these activities belong to various network operators, not a central organisation such as the RIPE NCC. The RIPE NCC could provide a store facility for those providers who wish to publish their statistical data on neutral ground. However, the role of the RIPE NCC in gathering quality of service data needs to be discussed by RIPE. 2.2 Technical -- Development Activities 2.2.1 DB Management Tools The development of more sophisticated DB management tools has been an ongoing activity, resulting in a very stable and able database service. The definition of new tools has been done in close cooperation with the RIPE Working groups on Routing, Local-IR and DB, thus ensuring the fulfillment of user needs. 2.2.2 DB Querying Tools This has resulted in improved versions of client software that are being used widely. Also the integration with most commonly used information retrieval tools is excellent. 2.2.3 Network Statistics and Performance gathering and presentation tools Not much progress has been achieved. The need for these tools is clear, but a more precise definition of the role, and the amount of resources, of the RIPE NCC is needed. 2.2.4 DNS Quality Control Tools Tools are available from the RIPE NCC server. The NCC itself does a monthly analysis of the European DNS space, resulting in the famous hostcounts, and a set of comprehensive error reports for all European domains. It is our opinion that further quality control of the DNS space, is up to the responsible organisations on a top level basis. 2.2.5 Tools for drawing network diagrams Basically no progress has been made in this area. A repository and a common naming scheme for network maps have been implemented. We do feel that the work should have some priority, but whether it should be done by the RIPE NCC is debatable. A special project might be more appropriate. 2.3 Administrative -- RIPE Activity Support 2.3.1 Keeping the RIPE document store This has been implemented in an extremely friendly way for the end users: all commonly available information retrieval tools give access to the document store. The documentstore itself is kept up to date, and has been implemented in a well structured way. 2.3.2 Technical and secretarial support for studies undertaken by RIPE This has been working quite well. We should probably try to put in place a chasing mechanism for work items issued from RIPE meetings i.e. more follow-up on the WG's and WG chairs. 2.3.3 Organisational support for RIPE meetings This works extremely well, and has substantially augmented the productivity of the RIPE meetings. 2.4 Administrative - Reporting 2.4.1 Quarterly reports on all activities will be produced for the RIPE participating organisations and the RARE CoA 2.4.2 Quarterly reports on outstanding problems will be produced for the RIPE participating organisations and the RARE CoA We conclude that excellent quarterly reports have been produced in a timely fashion. They consist of detailed descriptions of the accomplishments of the RIPE NCC, a discussion of outstanding problems, and excellent overviews of the state of the Internet in Europe. They not only serve as administrative reportings, but also as reference material for network administrators and operators. 2.4.3 the NCC reports on its ongoing work and outstanding problems also to each RIPE meeting. This has been done at each RIPE meeting. Especially presentation of outstanding problems is of importance, since in most cases participation and decision by RIPE is needed to resolve them. 2.4.4 The NCC will produce annual reports At the time of writing of this report, the first RIPE NCC annual report has just been produced. 3. General comments We have concluded that the RIPE NCC has in its first year of operations achieved the goals that were aimed at back in 1991. The flying start of most of the activities within the first few weeks of operations has been extremely impressive. Even more impressive has been the way the RIPE NCC staff has been able to keep up the momentum. A careful analysis of the original Activity Plan has shown that in a few areas the progress has not been as was foreseen. We recommend that RIPE has a careful look at these areas and decides on their relative importance for the near future. On the other hand, we have found that certain areas of activity have taken much more resources then was originally foreseen. The activities concern mainly the IP Registry function of the RIPE NCC. It is interesting to notice that this activity is not even explicitly mentioned in the Activity Plan! Another area that the current activity plan has not foreseen is the involvement of the RIPE NCC in special projects. This requires resources on the management level and on the technical level. Though the projects are formally separately staffed and funded, the fact that they are housed in the RIPE NCC automatically means that some NCC resources go into these projects. This has been intentional, but it is not covered by the Activity Plan. We conclude that the RIPE NCC has become a focal point for development activities in many areas of Internet technology. We therefore strongly recommend that RIPE defines a new Activity Plan for the RIPE NCC, taking into account the analysis above, and the actual set of activities of the RIPE NCC as they have developed over the first year of operations. 4. Acknowledgements We would like to thank the following persons for their involvement in preparing this report: Daniel Karrenberg <dfk@ripe.net> Tony Bates <tony@ripe.net> Anne Lord <anne@ripe.net> Marten Terpstra <marten@ripe.net> Daniele Bovio <hi@frors12.bitnet> Nandor Horvath <horvath@sztaki.hu> Francis Dupont <francis.dupont@inria.fr> Jean-Michel Jouanigot <jimi@dxcoms.cern.ch> Bernhard Stockman <boss@sunet.se> Blasco Bonito <bonito@nis.garr.it> Vladimir Vrabec <vrabec@cs.felk.cvut.cs> Geza Turchanyi <turchanyi@fserv.kfki.hu> Ruediger Volk <rv@Informatik.Uni-Dortmund.DE> Roland Acra <acra@cisco.com>